36 BARENTZ. 







ekins, and put on several pairs of socks together, to keep 

 their feet in heat. The ice was an inch thick on the sides 

 of their hut, and when they went out in clear weather 

 their clothes became white with frost and ice. They 

 increased the size of their fire, but from their recent 

 warning kept an opening for the smoke. They had 

 used all the wood laid up in their hut by the middle of 

 January, and they were obliged to shovel away the 

 snow on the outside to get at a fresh stock. This they 

 found a task of great difficulty, from the excessive 

 rigor of the climate. A party also proceeded to the 

 ship, but found her frozen up as before, and the ice 

 accumulated within. They caught a fox in the cabin, 

 which they took to their hut and ate. 



They had been economical of their wine, but they 

 kept Twelfth night with savings from their scanty allow- 

 ance, thus making as merry as their dismal situation 

 would permit. They fancied themselves at home in 

 Holland. They made pancakes with meal and oil, and, 

 soaking biscuit in their wine, drank to the three kings 

 of Cologne, and comforted themselves as if they had 

 been at a " great feast." They drew lots who should 

 be king of Nova Zembla, and it fell to the gunner to be 

 the monarch of that domain of cold and desolation. In 

 short, they made themselves as happy as if they had 

 been in their own houses among the dykes of Holland. 

 Thus does enjoyment, even in the most adverse times, 

 come to the very portal of misery at the mind's bidding. 



They had stormy weather for several succeeding days, 

 till about the 15th of January, during which they 

 confined themselves to their hut. They heard the foxes 

 running over their heads, but could not catch them, 

 which they regretted, as their provisions were beginning 

 to run short. The intense cold absorbed every other 

 sensation. They applied hot stones to their feet and 



